A New Kitchen

Last week I replaced the faucet on my bathroom sink, and want to make a new play kitchen for Jameson. We went to a thrift store today, I was hoping to find a bookshelf or something similar to use as the base (since cardboard didn't work too well before!)


I was so happy to find this old bathroom cabinet. It's metal, a little rusted, and missing the decorative part of one leg, but it's perfect for us. It has a drawer and two shelves in the cabinet. I took it in the backyard so I can clean it and re-paint it, but I think we'll end up leaving it there too.


Jameson took to playing with it right away. Several garden tools are hiding inside, and he was trying to tell me what the rake was for, but he got distracted.


He decided to chase the cat. She ran.


He got distracted by the scissors, and so Jasmine got to escape.

Garbage Truck!

Jameson has enjoyed opening presents all day, but this last one was probably the best. A GARBAGE TRUCK! Made from DUPLOS! Isaiah helped him put it together, and he's been picking up the trash and driving it around ever since.

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Giddy Up!

Uncle Ben is a great horse. And a scooper. And a train. Overall, he's just a wonderful uncle.

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Faux Hawk

Aunt Leah styled his hair. He looks like a dinosaur.

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Lemon

Jameson got a lemon from Grandma yesterday, and he brought it in the car on the way to Phoenix today. He hasn't decided what to do with it, but he managed to get some of the rind off. Sure makes the car smell good!

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Train

The train went all around the lake. We saw ducks and pigeons, bridges and a waterfall. The conductor peeped the horn to clear the path. We're looking at elephants now, and he won't stop talking about the train!

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Train

We came to the zoo since it's a pretty day. Just as we walked up, the little park train was pulling up. The conductor was very nice and let us ride even though I was short a dollar. As you can imagine, Jameson was thrilled.

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Fixing the Washing Machine

Grandpa, a different tool box, dryer in the middle of the kitchen, water and gunk on the floor, washer open and up in the air... Jameson is so happy!

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Tired Ramblings, Take Two

So, video straight from the phone doesn't work, but uploading it to the computer first does. Hopefully I will be getting my camera back soon...

Tired Ramblings

Sending a video from my phone. Hope it works!

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Delay

Nathan's flight is delayed, so we get to spend some time with him in the airport. Jameson likes watching the luggage on the conveyor belt, and is now running around like a crazy child.

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Helping Daddy

Nathan emptied his work locker into a big bag, and now Jameson is enjoying helping pull it all out.

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Socks

We spent the afternoon driving around picking up things for Nathan since he leaves in a week, and we found ourselves near a mall. I was driving, and Nathan and I were talking, when Jameson asked, "What's that in tree?"

I wasn't sure which tree he was referring to, and I was trying to listen to Nathan, so I didn't pay think too much about it until he answered his own question. "It's a sock!"

A few seconds later it hit me what he had said. "Jameson, did you just say there is a sock in the tree?"

"Yep!"

Nathan started laughing, more at the look on my face than his response. Nathan knew exactly what he was talking about, and told him that they were, in fact, socks.

Then I saw them. Big, red, sparkly socks with fake candy sticking out. I tried to explain the term "stocking", but was laughing too hard. Socks, they are.

Firetruck

I don't know how he sits in this thing, but it is a perfectly logical firetruck, what with the hose and all.

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A Memorable Thanksgiving Morning

We're getting ready to leave for dinner, but we've already had a very eventful morning. I won't place blame on who had said they would be up, but we found ourselves with an awake boy and sleeping parents around 10:30. At some point Jameson had told me that he wanted breakfast (second breakfast at this point), and I told him to ask Nathan, thinking he was up. And so our creative boy took matters into his own hands.

Jameson has a "stove" that I made for him, with oven door and sink, plus mini pots and pans and plastic food. So when Jameson came to my bedside saying, "Momma, want an egg?", I was expecting to see his plastic egg. But instead, I saw one of his pans with a egg in it. A cracked egg. With no shell. It looked like he was about to fry it. The yoke wasn't even broken!

So of course, I asked him where the rest of the egg was. He merrily lead me to the kitchen, where a large bowl sat on a chair, with a fair amount of eggy goop in the bottom. But still no shells.

"Where is the rest of the egg? The white part?"

"Oh! In my room!"

I was still in a haze of confusion, so this is the point that Nathan, still in the living room, figured it out ahead of me. "Is there egg all over his room?"

Yes. Yes, there was. Jameson's stove was dripping with egg, and a few more pans were "cooking" there. He had closed the lid of the toy box, and had put his egg carton (a clean, used one) on there. And he had filled it. By my count, it was 5 eggs he had taken from the refrigerator. All smashed and drained. It looked like he had simply cracked them in his fist, and obviously gotten quite good at it.

So, he was plopped into the bath, toys, books and everything else was taken to the backyard or dishwasher, and I mopped very well. We've been telling Jameson that eggs stay in the kitchen, not to take food from the refrigerator without Momma, and play food is for playing, real food is for cooking. We'll see.

I wanted to get pictures, but the battery was dead. Probably for the best. Now I can remember how funny it all was, instead of remembering the mess.

Trash Can?

We came down to the main library for a farmers market and story time. But it's preschool time, not toddler time, so Jameson got antsy having to sit still for so long. In the children's section they have this carpeted cylinder to climb in. I don't know what it's supposed to be, but Jameson insists it's a trash can.

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Horn

Aunt Leah is visiting, and she came over to play with Jameson this morning. He was driving his 'truck' around and she helped him rig up a 'horn'. He decided that this horn doesn't say "honk" or "beep". It says "HORN".




(There should be a video. If there isn't, click here)

After all that silliness, Jameson wanted to try on Leah's hat. She said it would be too big, but I told her she might be surprised.


He has a big head.


In an attempt to tire him out, we went to Target. Grocery shopping is much easier with an Auntie to distract the boy. They found a couch to sit on.


And Jameson wandered over to the vacuums. But he got a little scared and needed to hold on to Leah's leg.


We came home and Leah made a grilled cheese for Jameson. He helped...


...by eating the cheese.

Scoopers

Jameson has all three of his big trucks out digging in the dirt. The excavators really are scooping dirt into the dump truck, and he makes beep beep noises as the dump truck dumps it all back out. He's been at this for 15 minutes and doesn't look like he'll be stopping any time soon.

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Cooking

Jameson and I made an apple strudel. He was a big help, especially in getting rid of those pesky "extra" apple slices.

I didn't really want him playing with the flour and spices, so I gave him some pumpkin seeds and the measuring cups. He ate some seeds, found paper plates by the microwave to serve them on, and in general made a wonderful mess.

Halloween

I can't believe this is Jameson's third winter. He is so big, so smart and so aware. He's learning new things every day, picking up words and phrases and getting very good at communicating.

Last night he asked for his fire truck book before bed. I started looking for his 'big trucks' book and asked Jameson if he knew where it was. "It's in the trash, Mom."

Turns out he was referring to a catalog of toy trucks that he had ripped up earlier in the day. And it was, in fact, now in the trash.

More pictures from Halloween here.

Granpa Roo!

Jameson was very excited to go to Grandpa Roo's house this weekend, and no matter how much I explained that he was only visiting Uncle Ben, he insisted we were going to Grandpa Roo's house.

We stayed for two days, and the kids had a lot of fun together. Jameson loves their train set, and here is a cute video of all the kids (and Ben) playing. Jameson is a ham, is he not? (And too violent - we're working on that)



Photos are on facebook. You can see them even if you don't have an account.

Photos

Scooper!

Now that the weather is nice, Jameson and I walk up to the grocery store every few days. It's just about the right distance for Jameson to be able to walk it on his own, but long enough that it tires him out pretty well.

There has been some construction work going on along the road, and there are usually some little scoopers or scarpers sitting there. Jameson loves to go look, touch and get under them. Today, while he was exploring the scooper, a dump truck pulled up behind us and dumped a ton of dirt on the ground. Jameson was fascinated, and scared, and curious. I had to carry him away so that we wouldn't be in the way.




When we left the store he ran as fast as he could so he could see if the dump truck was still there. It was gone, but he got to see the giant pile dirt, and the hay ropes laid down to keep it in place. He wanted to play in the dirt, but I directed him to the rocks and dirt we were walking on. He spent the rest of the walk home picking up handfuls of dirt, walking a few steps, throwing it and scooping up some more.

This was much better than last time we walked up, when he decided half way home that he was not going to walk. When I refused to carry him, this is what happened:


Passive resistance. He just lays there. Once I got him across the street, though, he perked up since there were some other kids. (I told him they were neighborhood kids. Today as we walked, he stopped in front of that house and yelled "Neighborhood!' Where are you?")

And, an old picture I took on the way home from picking up our CSA. Jameson had grabbed a pear from the "extras" basket, and dug right in. He ate the entire thing, seeds and all.

Big Boy Bed

Today we graduated Jameson up to a big bed. It was Uncle Caleb's bed, in fact. We had been hyping it up all week, reading stories about big beds, talking about everyone who sleeps in big beds, looking at new big bed sheets. When Grandma and Grandpa pulled up with the bed in the truck, Jameson was already at the door and jumped all the way down the sidewalk.

Photos on facebook link: (it works even if you don't have an account)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=325622&id=904445639&l=b171b2deb8

Grandpa and Dad set it up, we put on some old sheets. After Jameson started getting fussy, Nathan laid down with him and got him to take a nap. We put the crib mattress on the floor just in case, and to make the crib unusable (or it looks that way to him, at least)

I was a little apprehensive about putting him down for the night, but it went well. I showed him how to get under the sheet, gave him his blankies and we read a lot of stories. I gave him his flashlight when I turned out the light and told him to stay in his big boy bed. And he did! No talking, no crying!

But now, a few hours later, I just had a fun little scare. I've been cleaning with headphones on, went down the hall and saw Jameson's door wide open. I glanced into his bed, empty. Look in my bed, bathroom, he's not out here. I've been going in and out of the house with compost, trash, where could he be?

Then I see Jasmine sauntering out of his room.

So I go in to take a closer look. He is in his bed, piled under blankets, with his head up in the corner. There is a bit of a gap between the bed and wall, but he has crammed several stuffed animals down there, so the bed is extended just right. And his flashlight is on.

Fire Truck Video

Grandma gave Jameson a dvd a few weeks ago with songs about trains, fire trucks and construction trucks. The fire truck section is his absolute favorite. He usually asks to watch it when he wakes up from a nap. He didn't get enough sleep today, so he's pretty konked out watching it.

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Working with Grandma

We walked up to the school since they had a half day. Grandma has lots of fun stuff in her desk.

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Shoveling

Sand from the sandbox is filling up the back of his tricycle, his collander, and probably his pants. He has chased the cat, splashed in his pool, and seriously considered eating the mashed potatos he made, but decided not to since they were made of sand. Oh, and when a cloud passes over the sun and it gets truly nice outside, he tells me it's too cold.

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Up Close

Jameson and I walked up to the grocery store this evening. It took twice as long as it should have because he stopped walking any time a truck drove by. On the way back, we went over to see this scraper that has been by the side of the road for a week. Jameson was in heaven, showing me the dirt and metal and chains. The only way to get him to leave was the promise of yogurt at home.

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So sleepy

His blanket is a great comforter, and a good hood.

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Garbage Truck

As soon as I folded the bed into the couch this morning, Jameson climbed up and declared it to be his garbage truck. We put the 'doors' on for him and gave him a pan lid as a steering wheel.

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Isaiah's Clothes

The kids all took a bath, and Jameson is wearing his cousins pjs. They're a little big, but not a huge difference for four years. He dumped out some dominos.

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Watching the Garbage Truck

Our garbage collection has been coming later in the day, and Jameson couldn't be happier. When he hears it, we open the door so he can watch it go up the street, then he runs around and talks about it until it come back down the street. Today he was helping me "fix" things with a screwdriver I'm replacing outlets and switches. I'm making sure he knows that I turn off the power (he says powder) before I touch the outlets, and even then, he's not allows to touch them. But he spent a lot of time fixing our filing cabinet!



Oh, and he's so good, he remembered the shut the door.

Football Game!

He's not paying any attention to the game, but the trees, birds, airplanes and whistles are fun.

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Cooking

It's cliche, but it seems that little boys really do like banging pots and pans with wooden spoons. This one in particular also likes to empty out cupboards.


And crawl inside.


He does not, of course, limit himself to normal cooking tools. The broom, the blankets, and the pliers are very useful.


Three lids on one pot; makes for a more resonant "bang bang bang"

Charlies Birthday

Playing in the backyard with Sean. Throwing Elmo is a fun game since Uncle Sean hasn't learned yet that he's playing fetch.

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Fun with Uncle Ben

Jameson had a lot of fun having Uncle Ben all to himself (UAnn and the kids are in Texas) and learned how to put the ball in the hoop. He also discovered that Grandma's table is also a delivery truck (and the ball should go under there, a lot). The necklace is also his own idea. I think he saw Ariadne wear it a few weeks ago, and he found it and put it on all on his own.

Delivery Truck

It's a beautiful day up at Grandma's. We're playing outside and Jameson has claimed this big rock as his own. It's a delivery truck, apparently, and is doing a brisk business moving little rocks around.

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My Little Carpenter

He built his own desk! He moved my sewing machine cover right in front of his little stool. He is using the desk to read his 'Jesus Book', aka his Storybook Bible. This overall makes me feel like a very good mother. (Note: In the time it has taken me to type this out, he has broken down his desk, put it all in the laundry basket and moved into his room. The desk is now set up and being used as some sort of train track.)

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